The combined power of the Far North Community by Stewart Russell

02 Nov 2015

We all know that there is safety in numbers and that the strength of a team is greater than its individual parts. If we could find the time to collaborate and work closer together with our businesses we could all benefit.

The problem of course is that each business is different and has different priorities, needs and skills. It is difficult to get something which everyone will want and need, and have someone who is prepared to drive it forward and make it happen.

However one thing that practically all businesses require is the use of electricity.

The power companies are huge businesses and each of our businesses individually are just not that important to them. Yes they would like to sell us electricitry, but at the price that they dictate, and there are no avenues to negotiate on price.

The power companies will not be interested in cutting a deal with a business who spends say $20,000 per annum on power. But if we can get say 50 businesses to come together then the combined power spend could be $1million, which is now attractive to the power company.

By combining in this way we could have a win, win, win situation. The individual businesses obtain a cheaper power price, the power company gets a greater market share in the Far North region and the local economy will improve as the businesses have more disposable income to spend, either on their employees or with other local businesses.

Of course this needs someone to take the lead, coordinate the approach and then negotiate with the power companies. We are very fortunate to have a community minded organisation, who are happy to lead the way and co-ordinate the other businesses - Cliff Colquhoun and Paul Hansen of CBEC are driving this concept.

The vision is quite simple - by getting all the businesses and individuals to come together, our buying power (if you pardon the pun) would be huge and we will be able to negotiate a very attractive price.

The higher the amount of potential power spend, the more attractive we will be to the power companies and therefore the better the deal we should be able to secure for the Far North.

At this point we just need an indication of the level of potential power spend we have. The more businesses that come on board, the better.

If you are interested in getting involved with this iniative please contact either myself, Paul Hansen or Cliff Colquhoun. There is also a survey being distributed on Survey Monkey by Kaitaia Business Association - if you would like a link to the survey please email kbainc@xtra.co.nz

We are in the process of investigating possible power suppliers who would like to break into the Far North market or increase their market share. We have planned an initial meeting with one provider on Tuesday 3 November - it would be helpful to have an indication of the likely size of the power spend. If you are unable to complete the survey, then just call Paul Hansen at CBEC who would be able to take some basic details. Let us in the Far North take some control over our power prices and be a price maker rather than a price taker.

Remember any savings we can achieve from negotiating a reduced power price collectively is a win win for our local businesses and economy.